Engineers eye upgraded industrial technology

MARC NKWAME in Arusha

TANZANIAN engineers based in Japan together with their local counterparts, as well as those from Rwanda and Uganda, are meeting in Arusha to come up with ways of assisting the country to upgrade its industrial technology.

“We are simply responding to President John Magufuli’s fifth phase government industrial development initiative, but as engineers, we are aware that, this requires new technology, advanced machinery and qualified manpower to handle the equipment,” said Prof Cuthbert Mhilu, the Chairman of the Organising Committee.

He was speaking during the 5th International Conference on Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, taking place for two days at the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science of Technology (NM-AIST) in Tengeru area.

He said the scientific meeting is targeting technology development and innovation among engineers; “If Tanzania is to forge ahead in industrial development, then the country needs more technologically advanced machinery,” said Prof Mhilu, adding that as technology continues to advance, the quality of products also improves.

Rector at the Nelson Mandela Institute of Science and Technology, Prof Anthony Mshandete said having engineers was not enough, because at the moment the world relies on creativity, innovation and advanced technology.

“We want our engineers to come up with innovative ideas that are to solve people’s and national problems,” said Prof Mshandete, adding that in order to effectively compete in international markets there is need to produce competitive goods for both internal usage and exports.

The conference, themed, ‘Promoting engineering innovations for sustainable Development’, is an international forum organised to bring together researchers and practitioners to share ideas and observe the latest research, problems and solutions relating to the multifaceted aspects of Mechanical, Industrial, Materials, Textile and Manufacturing Engineering as well as Gas and Oil Technology and Management.

Engineers meeting in Arusha include those based in Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and overseas countries like Norway and Japan, but with affiliations here. Mr Moi Msombe from the University of Dar es Salaam pointed out that industrial development is all about having competitive edge, “And, this requires new machinery; we cannot pretend to be productive by investing in old analogue equipment,” he said.

He added that the country must invest in technology despite the fact that automated machinery spell doom to human labour force. “People should move from doing manual work and start innovating by letting the machinery do the production as it is the case in Japan and other developed nations,” he said.

Msombe was, however, concerned that to achieve it, massive capital mobilisation will be needed and that most countries in Africa may not be able to afford.